Ex-Hialeah mayor pleads not guilty to tax evasion

Hialeah's former mayor has pleaded not guilty to federal tax evasion charges.

Julio Robaina and his wife are charged with conspiring to defraud the U.S., filing a false tax return and making false statements to investigators.

Raiza Villacis Robaina did not enter a plea with her husband on Friday because it is not yet clear whether his attorney can represent her, too.

The Robainas are accused of receiving undisclosed cash payments as interest on more than $1 million in personal loans they made to friends and associates, including a convicted Ponzi schemer.

Julio Robaina was Hialeah's mayor from 2005 to 2011 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Miami-Dade County. The Miami Herald reports ( http://hrld.us/19aaQrO) that Robaina thanked supporters outside the courthouse on Friday but declined to answer questions from reporters.